In celebration of Womxn's History Month, we present Reclaiming & Renaming: A Womxn’s Art Exhibition. Our gallery and shop rotates monthly so don't miss this one! On view until March 29, 2024.
Visit us during viewing hours listed on the flier above. Always family-friendly.
About the exhibit
Womxn have sacrificed, lost, and given up so much in every corner of the world for centuries. Bodies, rights, autonomy, children. There is also plenty of evidence of womxn reclaiming their power over & over.
From women, to womyn, to womxn, to -
the act of naming and renaming happens often but what does it mean to those being identified? What does the spelling signify?
Come witness how 8 artists interpret this title and theme.
Opening Night
Photos courtesy of Sindayiganza Photography
(do not use photos without permission)
Featured Artists:
Tamara Diaz
she/her
Tamara Diaz is a self-taught visual artist and social worker based in South Providence, RI. With a lifelong passion for art ignited during her childhood, Diaz's creative journey has been a continuous evolution. Born in NYC, she found inspiration in the city's vibrant art scene and the golden era of hip hop. Diaz's formative years were also shaped by her time in Barcelona, Spain, from ages 5 to 10, and travels to approximately 20 countries, enriching her perspective on art and culture.
Drawing from diverse influences, including iconic figures like Keith Haring, Frida Kahlo, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Diaz's artistic style is a fusion of personal experiences and global influences. Her heritage, with Cuban roots on her father's side and a mother born in England, further contributes to the multifaceted layers of her work.
Diaz's artistic contributions extend beyond the canvas, with approximately 200 exhibits showcasing her talent and creativity. Additionally, she has left her mark on communities through the creation of six murals in Rhode Island and the Dominican Republic. At the heart of Diaz's artistry lies a deep-seated commitment to helping others, intertwined with her passions for photography, travel, and cultural exploration. Through her work, she continues to bridge boundaries and inspire audiences with her unique perspective on the world.
This is a collection of art in Tamara Diaz’s original Tropi-Pop Style; a fusion of pop art work with Tropical vibes! The art showcases real situations and emotions through a visual narrative of symbols and colors, often transforming difficult topics into something more tolerable. The collection of work was focused on topics of life experiences and the resilience that we have to have to be successful in life and to work through our challenges. Each piece tells a story of a time in my life.
Amya Meshelle
she/her
Amya Meshelle is a self-taught, LGBTQ visual artist, and painter from Brockton, MA. Her main mediums are watercolor, oil, and acrylic paint. Amya's work is inspired by emotional themes such as coming of age, girlhood, broken familial relationships, and the complexities of life. Through her art, she expresses the voice of her inner child and connects with the audience through shared vulnerability.
In honor of the theme of this exhibition, Reclaiming and Renaming, Amya took an old, unfinished piece, and gave it new life. In her work she often features her Blue People - who are meant to be symbolic figures representing the emotions we carry with us throughout the world. The main goal she has with her personal work is to express feeling, and encourage connection through color and emotional themes - reclaiming mental health, societal standards of femininity, and complex life experiences.
Susanna Turner
she/her
Susanna is a freelance photographer and actor based in New England. Being an adoptee and growing up in six different countries (Colombia, Argentina, India, Pakistan, USA, and Venezuela) has instilled a passion for culture, colors, music, and people. Her work is an extension of that passion.
She is interested in using photography as a means of understanding the world through her own intersectional eyes. Following her eye to capture street photography, the everyday life of local people, architecture, and colors has allowed her to see the beauty and vibrancy of New England. With each shot, she learns a little bit more about the world and a little bit more about herself.
Jayne Breakfast
she/her
Jayne Breakfast is a graphic designer and photographer from the Philadelphia area. She graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 2022 and now lives and works in Providence. Her work is primarily based around intimacy with the self and others, identity, grief and girl culture. Jayne’s first love is darkroom photography and she often converges digital and traditional photography making techniques in her work.
Jayne’s work, Swimming Pool uses themes of fluidity of the female body and its connections to water. In her reclamation of the female form, Jayne uses traditional and digital photography techniques to piece together a new narrative of what it means to be who you are. Playing with the motif of water, Jayne pieces apart the female form, and in doing so pieces apart the body’s role in identity, truth, intimacy and isolation.
Ava Varszegi
she/her
Ava Varszegi is an illustrator and teacher based in Providence, RI. After studying Illustration at RISD, she continued on in their Continuing Education department to achieve certificates in Natural Science Illustration and Graphic Design. Her favorite subjects to capture are botanicals and insects, drawn from life wherever possible. This passion stems from a childhood of backyard observation, filling pockets with shells, collecting cones, and sneaking salamanders to school. Varszegi strives to educate and create a better awareness/appreciation for natural specimens through her detailed drawings and paintings. She believes that STEAM based content should be accessible to all.
Within this selection of work, Varszegi aims to honor the trailblazers who opened doors for women in both the arts and sciences, especially those who were silenced and remained without recognition. Some of the most influential natural science illustrators of the 18th-20th centuries were women who made great scientific contributions despite having less access than their male peers. Though they had to combat the voices of an overwhelmingly male dominated field, their efforts paved the way for the biologists of today.
Meghan Brown
she/her
Though new to clay, Meghan has been diving deep into creating things with her two hands since she begged her grandmother to teach her to knit before she had started kindergarten. Now, the act of creation plays a pivotal role in her daily, weekly, and seasonal routines which helps to ground her and provide a much-needed sense of accomplishment and control. As a recovering perfectionist, Meghan adores the flexible mindset and acceptance of setbacks and failures that clay presents each time she touches it.
Recognizing that ceramics is a consumptive art, Meghan does her best to use recycled clay in the vast majority of her pieces. She sources as many tools and materials for this medium and others secondhand when she can.
Meghan’s work is inspired by concepts of femininity. Whether giving a nod to folk art, vintage kitchenware shapes, the textures of quilting and knitting, bodies and body parts typically identified as female, or the historically feminine hours of night, Meghan aspires to uplift the concept of the divine feminine. This body of work aims to highlight the power in femininity. She hopes that her pieces make you feel a bit of the divine as you use them.
Sissy Rossó
she/they/ella/elle
sissyrosso.com
Sissy Rossó (1997) is a mixed media artist born in Bronx, NY and raised in Providence, RI. Most of Sissy's work is an exploration of identity, woven together by the threads of her cultural heritage, family history, and the vibrant communities that shape her experiences. Her creative interests take on an interdisciplinary approach encompassing printmaking, textiles, collage, and painting. She strives to create a visual language that reflects on Dominican ancestral knowledge which becomes a powerful tool for communal healing. Drawing from archival practices, she delves into the layers of personal and collective memory, unearthing stories that might otherwise be forgotten. Her work invites viewers to reimagine their own narratives and envision a future unburdened by the constraints of the familiar.
Sissy strives to capture the essence of womanhood in its most intimate and authentic moments. Sissy is drawn to the power and beauty found in the connections between women, whether it be in moments of joy, contemplation, or resilience. By focusing on these shared experiences, she aims to celebrate the bonds that unite women and to challenge societal norms that often overlook or undermine the importance of these relationships.
Marlisse Payamps
she/her
Marlisse Payamps is a Providence, RI born and based photographer who has been honing her photography skills professionally in the last few years. Born to Dominican immigrant parents and raised on the South Side of Providence, Marlisse has been exposed to a diverse collective of cultures and individuals, which have served as great inspiration to her work. Her vision is shared via her aspects of her photography through her portrait, event, and travel work.
She enjoys highlighting women in familial and communal settings, with a moments capture - helping to illustrate a glimpse of what life is like for women in the modern day. In 2023, she was one of a group of women photographers who were recruited to create work for an all female play based on the 1970s feminist movement in collaboration with The Vanta Guild and Trinity Repertory Company.